Karen Kingham
Nutrition Consultant (APD/AN)
Karen loves good food and has a passion for fresh produce. A dietitian for more than 16 years - and a nutrition consultant and freelance nutrition writer for the past ten - Karen strives to share her knowledge to help others enjoy the healthy benefits of great tasting food that can bring pleasure and wellbeing to life.
As a busy working mum of two, Karen also understands the challenges of preparing healthy food for a family and believes that with a little knowledge, you can walk the fine line between convenience and good nutrition.
Karen’s spokesperson role with Aussie Apples is one that draws on her food passions and personal experience. An affordable fruit, apples are a staple that has always featured highly on Karen’s shopping list, with family favourites covering everything from Grannies to Galas.
Karen consults to the food industry and is the author of the healthy cookbooks Eat Well Live Well With - Growing Children and Eat Well Live Well With - High Cholesterol (Murdoch Books). Karen was also the consulting nutrition expert to best seller Baby & Toddler Food (Murdoch Books) and nutrition features writer for Practical Parenting Magazine.
In addition to her role with Aussie Apples, Karen also acts as resident nutrition expert for BBC Australian Good Food, a monthly food and recipe magazine.
Apple phytonutrients known as antioxidants are thought to be responsible for many of the health effects of apples. However the pectin in apples, a soluble type of fibre, is thought to aid digestion and gastrointestinal health. And, an apple’s low GI, low kilojoules and slow to eat crunchy texture are believed to keep hunger at bay and kilojoules down, and so help with weight control.
Apples are best eaten fresh with their skin on. Research shows apples eaten this way can keep you fuller for longer – likely due to their filling but slow to eat crunchy texture. Plus measurements of antioxidant content reveal apple peel can have up to three times the antioxidant content of apple flesh alone. It’s these important antioxidant compounds that scientists think are the reason for the healthy benefits enjoyed by regular apple eaters. So don’t let them go to waste; eat your apples peel and all.
When you need to control your weight, balance between diet and exercise is crucial. Ensuring you get your two serves of fruit and five serves of vegetables is a good start to getting your diet in better shape. Apples are an inexpensive, low kilojoule, fibre rich, low GI food that has the science to back up its benefits.
Apples have been shown to reduce kilojoule intake when eaten before a meal, extend the time it takes you to feel hungry when eaten as a snack and assist with greater weight loss when eaten three times a day as part of a weight loss diet compared with an oat based snack of equivalent energy value.
The nutritional value of all fresh produce falls the moment it is picked. However, correct storage can delay and even halt this decline in nutrition – that’s why Australian apples are placed in refrigerated storage as soon as they are harvested.
Recent research on the effects of storage on antioxidants in apples tells us that apples stored correctly can retain or even increase in antioxidant capacity.
To keep your apples fresh and maintain their nutritional value, we recommend you buy your fruit from suppliers that return their produce to the cool store each night. And when you bring your apples home, store them in the fridge, removing just a few each day for eating if you prefer them at room temperature.
All apples are good sources of antioxidants, especially if you eat them fresh with the skin on. Eating the skin is important as this is where the bulk of the apple’s antioxidants can be found.
Antioxidants are often associated with the colour pigments of fruit and vegetables – beta carotene is the yellow of carrots and pumpkins, lycopene is the red in tomatoes and watermelon and anthocyanin is the purple in berries. Research suggests apples that are darker, redder and bluer will have a more antioxidant rich, nutritious peel. However, as all apples are rich in antioxidants, the variety you enjoy and are most likely to eat, is really the best one for you.
As the bulk of the antioxidants in apples are found in the skin, if you need to peel your fruit before you cook it, the antioxidant losses will be significant.
There is little specific research on apple antioxidants and cooking, but research on a range of fresh produce shows that antioxidant content is best preserved with cooking methods that don’t involve the use of large amounts of water. This is because many antioxidants will dissolve into water and are then lost, if the water is not part of what you ultimately consume. So, fresh will always be best but if you have to cook your apples try to keep the skin on and use minimal water if possible. Perhaps opt for cooking by microwaving, steaming, baking or grilling.
